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Alrighty. I wasn’t a fan of this conversation even before he asked about my relationship status. I’m certainly not up for it now.
“I really should be going.”
I rip the cart out from underneath his hand and pray that he doesn’t follow me. I hustle into the next aisle and spot Josh at the end of it with the girls holding each of his hands. Gritting my teeth, I beeline straight for them.
“Guys. We had a deal. I agreed to bring you because you all promised me you would listen and never leave my side, remember?”
Reagan and Caroline exchange a glance. “Actually,” Caroline says, tossing her hair over her shoulder, “you only brought us because Aunt Phoebe couldn’t get off work and that motel is scary.”
“Super-duper scary!” Reagan chirps.
I can’t exactly blame them. That godawful motel scares the shit out of me, too, and I’m almost twenty-seven years old. But it was the cheapest and most remote hideout that Phoebe could find for us on short notice.
“Yes, yes, I know. But please, can we listen to Auntie Em anyway?” I beg. “Can we stay by my side? Pretty please?”
Reagan and Caroline giggle. “Okaaay.”
I give their heads a nervous tousle and then gesture for them to follow me towards the checkout counters. I scan the crowds as I step up to the cashier.
I can’t see Mr. Tuna Breath anymore.Thank God for that.But every time I glance at the kids, I also catch Josh staring at me. I give him what I hope is a reassuring wink but he doesn’t so much as crack a smile.
“Hey,” I whisper while the girls bicker about something or the other. “Don’t look so worried, J. This is gonna be an adventure.”
He frowns. “I’m notfive,Aunt Em. That’s not gonna work on me.”
I sigh. “Kiddo, I know this isn’t ideal—” I give the cashier a tight smile and start loading the conveyor belt with our stuff. “—but it’s necessary. You know that, right?”
He nods stiffly. “Yeah, but I don’t get why we can’t just call Ruslan and ask him for help. He would help us.”
Every time one of them mentions his name, it feels like a knife to my heart. Or a glass shard in my thigh. Turns out, the two feelings are extremely similar. I would know.
“We’re gonna have to do this without Ruslan, buddy.”
“Butwhy?”
Because he hates my fucking guts now and he didn’t care about me enough to want to hear my side of the story.
“It’s complicated.”
“I hate when grown-ups say that.”
I run a frustrated hand down the side of my face. “Yeah. I felt the same way once.”
We manage to get through the checkout and then I herd the kids up and order them to form a straight line beside me. “Like ducklings. We’re gonna walk fast, okay?”
“Do we have to go back to that place?” Reagan whines. She’s using those big blue eyes of hers to maximum effect.
“‘Fraid so, Rae-Rae. But we won’t be there for long. Now, come on.”
As we leave the store, I have this weird sense that we’re being watched. Mr. Tuna Breath again, maybe? But when I glance back over my shoulder, I don’t see him or anyone else that seems remotely interested in us.
It’s just the paranoia talking, Emma. Be cool. We’re almost outta here.
Once we’ve got all our goodies stuffed in the trunk of the car, I have to strap the girls into their car seats. “Josh, stay close, okay?”
I hate that I have to turn my back on him to help the girls with their seatbelts. “I’m almost done, Josh. Then you can get—”
The screech of tires sends my panic meter blasting off the charts. No one should be driving that fast in a Walmart parking lot. I back out of the car, ass first. “Josh!”
